AUTOS: Small & Sporty

Nash, which helped pioneer the postwar American small car market with its Rambler, last week announced plans to bring out a still smaller sports car next spring. Like other U.S. carmakers, Nash knows it can hardly afford to tool up for the limited market such a car may have. So it made a deal with Britain's Austin Motor Co. Ltd. to build the car (still not named) in England. Birmingham's coach-makers Fisher & Ludlow Ltd. will supply the body, Austin the chassis and a 42 h.p. engine. Nash does not expect to sell it as a family car. The new car will carry only three in the single seat, and luggage space will be scanty. But with the car's easy maneuverability (85-in. wheelbase) and gas economy (40 miles per gallon), Nash does hope to tap a market among Americans who cannot afford a larger car. Price: somewhat less than the Nash Rambler.

Nash is not the first U.S. automaker to see the advantage of such a deal. Eighteen months ago Ford started marketing its British-made Consul in the U.S. ($1,695 in New York). It has since sold 4,000. Last spring Ford started making a slightly bigger version, the Zephyr 6. But the British automakers still manage to dominate the American small car market. Since 1949 they have nearly doubled the sales of Hillmans, Austins and the low-slung MG. It now looks as if the market for small cars is finally getting big enough to make it really worth while for U.S. automakers.